MAGnet #11 06/08/21

Magnet #11

This week, we’re talking about Twitter’s new feature, a campaign about the importance of mental health, and a fun announcement from ourselves!

Social Media

Twitter is piloting a new feature that allows users to buy directly from the profiles of brands. The feature; “Shop Module,” aims to bridge the gap between discovering products on the platform and then purchasing them. This allows businesses to showcase their products and is currently available only in the US for iOS device users.

"We know people come to Twitter to interact with brands and discuss their favourite products," said Twitter's Revenue Product Lead Bruce Falck at Twitter Analyst Day 2021. "Imagine easily discovering, and quickly purchasing a new skincare product or trendy sneaker from a brand you follow with only a few clicks."

With Shop Module, Twitter users are able to scroll and tap through products to learn more about, and shop for products on the business' landing page without leaving the Twitter app.

Shop Module is a new player in an already busy social media e-commerce space, with Facebook Marketplace, Shopify, and Instagram Checkout already big competitors.

 Twitter however is unperturbed, and plans to capitalize on this increasing social commerce consumer market, which has boomed during the coronavirus pandemic and is projected to grow over the next three to five years.

Campaigns: Create Not Hate / Shout 85258: Better Out

The racist abuse aimed at Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho after the Euro 2020 final isn’t just about missed penalties and it isn’t confined to elite footballers. Shout 85258 collaborated with Create Not Hate to create a campaign which addresses the fact that young black men face racism every day, on top of the same stresses that everyone else faces, yet too often they feel obliged to put on a brave face.

Shout’s research conducted by agency The Outsiders explored black youth culture and common barriers to mental health in the black community. Shout and The Outsiders concluded that,  through their research, that this is a group in which many boys and men are struggling with mental health but don’t feel like services like Shout are for them. Often there is a reluctance to open up about anxieties because of pressure to maintain a persona that’s strong and not overly emotional.

The new campaign, “Better Out” encourages young black males to take their mental health seriously, to open up and share their emotions, and to use the Shout 85258 text service to seek help if they need it - however big or small their worries.

The campaign explores the insight around masking emotions through two different campaigns:

·         The first is ‘Hide Your Unhappy’- a campaign which uses a provocative headline to grab the attention of a new demographic for the Shout helpline. The marketing campaign offers “Free Smile Masks” depicting the faces of smiling young men to help you “Hide Your Unhappy.” On the back of each mask is a message telling people that they don’t need to hide behind a smile, urging them to talk over their problems with Shout by texting BETTEROUT to 85258.

·         The second execution is a video featuring a conversation between two young men that captures the superficial chat and the unspoken feelings behind it. This conveys  the ‘Better Out’ message and  shows how masking conversations can exacerbate negative emotions when feeling low. This is going to be shared across social media channels most popular with young people: Snapchat, Instagram and YouTube.

Shout 85258 is a free, confidential, 24/7 text messaging support service for anyone who is struggling to cope. They launched publicly in May 2019 and have had more than 750000 conversations with people who are anxious, stressed, depressed, suicidal or overwhelmed and who need immediate support.  The campaign has been funded by Harry’s, a men’s care brand who have a social impact mission of giving to organisations that promote better mental health care for men.

Awards

Mag is happy to announce that we’ve been shortlisted for 3 MPA Inspiration Awards this year!! We’re shortlisted for  Media Agency of the Year, Best Integrated Campaign for our work with Knowsley Safari Park, and Best Digital Campaign with the brand Raffolux.  We will obviously be over the moon if we win, but if anything- it’ll  be nice to attend an in person ceremony with the industry! It has been missed.